1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the distribution and retail sales of products for human consumption such as food and drug products and, more particularly, to a tamper-proof carton for distributing and selling such products and the method of using the same in retail sales.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, food and drug products have been distributed and sold in containers which could be easily opened and closed without detection by sales personnel or consumers. As a result of the distribution and sales of such products in containers whose integrity could not be assured, food and drug products in recent years have been tampered with at various stages in the manufacturing, distribution, and/or sales process. On occasion, this tampering included poisonous substances being introduced into the products, resulting in poisoning and, tragically, death of the consumers of the products.
In an effort to preclude such tampering, bottles, jars, and other containers are now being sealed by most companies to discourage tampering. This is done usually by providing closures and seals for the containers which evidence tampering with the closure. In this manner, a consumer theoretically should be able to discern whether a container which he/she may be purchasing has been tampered with, and, therefore, be warned that a particular item should not be purchased or consumed.
Unfortunately, however, ways have been found to tamper with products which employ these supposedly sealed, tamper-resistant containers. For example, lethal substances may be injected into such a container with a hypodermic needle in a manner which is difficult for a typical consumer to detect. Similarly, a container may be removed from a retail display, the contents altered, and the container resealed and replaced in the retail display all in such a manner that upon ordinary inspection a consumer would not be aware of the tampering. Consequently, conventional tamper-resistant seals will not always protect a consumer from possible tampering.
Accordingly, while many attempts have been made to design tamper-proof containers to protect against poisoning or other contamination of the products contained therein, these attempts have not been totally successful. The risk of tampering and contamination of food and drug products continues to pose a serious problem.